Ladies and Gents, i'm hoping someone here can help me as this is starting to stress me out and make me a little scared..
As a few of you know i'm looking after some animals for a friend of mine so I don't really have any experience with animals but i'm having a problem with the puppy.
Every time I go outside to feed the dogs or stop the puppy from nomming something it shouldn't, he goes after my boots and trousers and if I try to push him off he snarls and growls at me, i'm worried he's going to bite me..
Anyway, is there something I could do to stop him from doing this?
I know he's a puppy and he's playful and stuff but this is getting a bit out of hand and my boots are getting messed up..
Also I don't think this is really the right place for this thread but I don't know where else to put it..
One thing puppies NEED and will respond to better than older untrained dogs is discipline. Puppy is doing something wrong? Puppy gets punished. This is how puppy learns :P
On a more serious note. When he goes after your boots, give him a strong, firm "NO, bad dog, no biting", or something along those lines. if he doesn't respond, give him a flick on the nose, and repeat.
Another thing is if he's growling, that could be playful, or not. General rule is, if he's wagging his tail, he's playing, if he isn't, he's not happy. The second is actually slightly more serious as he really should not be so aggressive. So, basically... Impose yourself/your authority. The puppy is still learning who fits where in the hierarchy of his mind. You need to be on top, so to speak...!
"And sometimes when our fights begin,
I think I'll let the Dragons win...
And then I think perhaps I won't,
Because they're Dragons, and I don't."
puppy cute!!!!!!!!!!!!! hehe okay unhelpful bit over.
this advice depends on the type of pup it is- I have a lab which is a soft mouth so if it did bite it wouldnt be to bad.
any way, advice thats worked for me.
1- growly voice (roll your rrrr's and use lots of phem...) to say no. you dont need to yell but you need to sound as dog like as posible. be really assertive and stuff to make yourself the alpha of the pack.
2- on the biting thing, spray bottle with water. when it starts biting squirt it.
3- play games of tug, or anything that involves its teeth. (it could be teething)
4- leave it a chew toy- old shirt of yours (wear an old shirt to bed for a night then give it to the pup)
thats all I can think of for now :)
GOOD LUCK, PM me if you want :)
Doing what you love can be the loneliest time of your life
A climbers day starts at the crux, getting out of bed.
Water spray bottle is better than flicking on the nose, also it needs to be a stern no not a shout as if you are not there when the puppy does the thing that is wrong as soon as they go away they forget what it is you are shouting st them for. This of cause confuses the poor thing and makes the puppy a lot harder to be trained.
If the puppy is not yours/not in familiar surroundings the whole hirachy of who is boss is messed up. you just need to inform that he knows you are leader of the pack not a play mate. This can be done by insuring you eat first and don't give him any of your food, after you have finished then you give him him, if your not allowing him on your bed/chair/whatever this has to be a constant thing no letting the pup up sometimes but not others.
maybe in the meantime keep your boots high so he can not get them, give him lots oF soft rubber chew toys and rawhide...good for him to chew, pup friendly sand they love it...its also cheap!
GOOD LUCK
You see things. You understand. You're a wallflower.
He stays outside (Not my choice, it's what I was told to do) and i'm staying at the friends house not mine.
I'll try some of them things like a spray bottle if I can find one around this place haha.
About 10mins ago I had to break up a fight between the puppy and one of the big dogs, the puppy actually started it and luckly the big dog didn't bite back..(Both dogs are ok, don't worry, Me on the other hand got soked (sp) breaking them up haha!)
I did get him a chew thingy the other day as I noticed he was eating wood and stuff but he either has already eaten it or just enjoys eating things he shouldn't.
I much prefer the positive re-enforcement type of training than negative (spray bottles/tapping on the nose), which would be in the vane of, when the puppy isn't doing something he shouldn't be, he gets attention and praise.
When he goes for the boots, give him a stern no, not shouting but low in the voice and forceful. If he turns away from the boot/leaves it alone himself, give him a treat or pet him and give praise in a high tone of voice ("Good puppy, clever puppy" etc) straight away. He'll note the change in vocal tone and realise 'if i dont do that, good things happen'. That should help mould his behaviour.
If the 'no' doesn't work to get him off your boot, grab him firmly by the scruff of his neck and gently lift him off of them, again saying the firm 'no'. Thats how a mother would discipline in a pack of dogs. Again, reward the correct behaviour of staying away from the boots if he does that.
You could try getting a rawhide bone for pups for him to chew on as if he is still very young he could just be teething. Reward with praise if he chews that instead of your boots
as for the barking and growling, if his teeth aren't showing and his tail is wagging, take it as play. its very strange for a young pup to be actively vicious to something or someone so much bigger than them (unless the other dogs you're looking after are doing the same?). Depending on the breed of dogs depend on what type of games you should play. hunting dogs like Labrador's like fetch games, herding dogs like collies like to collect things together etc.
the 'fight' you had to brake up was probably social play. puppys need that in the wild to learn how to hunt so he probably wouldn't have got hurt. if there aren't any yelps, leave them too it but if it sounds like someone got hurt, go ahead and break it up
Hope this has helped some
Last edited by kona : 09-09-2012 at 10:40 AM.
Reason: i cant type and adding bits
I'm Angela's (dancing loony) guard dog, I'm Comatostatic's Squishy
Comatostatic is my Plague rat in a top hat
If the other dogs are softies then its probably play. does he tend to drop his front end to the floor with his bum sticking in the air while he's growling?
I'm Angela's (dancing loony) guard dog, I'm Comatostatic's Squishy
Comatostatic is my Plague rat in a top hat
When he goes after your boots, give him a strong, firm "NO, bad dog" and repeat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ettie
1- growly voice to say no.
2- on the biting thing, spray bottle with water. when it starts biting squirt it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nave
Water spray bottle is better than flicking on the nose.
I agree with all of that and i'll add as further punishment pick up puppy and put him in the garage or somewhere else closed in (example laundry or bathroom) for 10 minutes. We did that with my brothers dog when she was a puppy and it worked.
I don't know why I didn't think of this before but I just had to go out in the garden but this time I went out with some of his dog food in my hand and every time he jumpped or went for my boots I told him to sit and then gave him a treat if he did...
Shockingly it worked, pretty much everytime I said 'sit' he did...Couldn't get him to stay but I think that was asking a bit too much haha.
I very strongly disagree with many of the methods mentioned here. Best way to stop it is either timeout (just turn away/go back inside for 15 seconds) or incompatible behaviour which is exactly what you've done with the sit. Well done.
Another thought, if this pup is outside its likely to be really bored. A cheap and easy way to entertain them is make like a pass the parcel by wrapping treats in layers of newspaper, you can also stuff this into an empty cereal box or similar to make it harder and then give it to pup to destroy. Means you have to pick up some shredded paper but keeps the puppy happy.
Yeah, i've been watching him a lot today (to make sure he eats nothing he shouldn't) and I can just tell he's bored and maybe teething (sp) too...Not a good mix, I know I would be bored if I was outside all the time haha.
Do you think maybe treats in a plasic pop bottle would work or would the be a bit dangerous?
You can get chew toys/ropes which are better . Though if you give him a plastic pop bottle the puppy may very well eat the plastic aswell as the treats, which could lead to a large vet bill.
Yes, treats in a plastic pop bottle is good - as long as the plastic isn't too thick. I know we did that with my dog and he loved it :P
EDIT: Hmm, I'm not sure about him eating the bottle too, I know our dog didn't do that and he's been known to eat a lot of stupid things, but I'm not 100% sure.
"And sometimes when our fights begin,
I think I'll let the Dragons win...
And then I think perhaps I won't,
Because they're Dragons, and I don't."
